VoIP service enables voice communication carried over Internet networks. VoIP is also conventionally referred to as Internet Protocol (IP) Telephony, Internet telephony, Broadband telephony, Broadband Phone and Voice over Broadband. A typical arrangement for a VoIP service is to use a dedicated VoIP client in a user's terminal, which may be, for example, a personal computer. The introduction of smart phones (i.e., a cellular phone that can connect to the Internet for tasks like Web browsing and sending and receiving e-mail) has also enabled making of VoIP calls using mobile devices.
The overwhelming popularity of mobile devices such as smart phones has opened up the possibility of using mobile devices and related communication infrastructure as a media for providing what may be referred to as “mobile marketing” to potential consumers. Mobile marketing involves and relates to marketing and advertising via mobile devices, e.g., mobile phones, smart phones, and Personal Data Assistants (PDAs), or any other computer device configured to be able to receive or send data wirelessly, receiving promotional content, e.g., marketing and/or advertising content in the form of, e.g., text, audio, video or some combination thereof associated with a particular product, service or combination thereof.
Mobile marketing is considered by advertisers as the next new channel to directly reach potential consumers. Mobile marketing enables advertisers to directly reach individual consumers in a targeted way. This is because the nature of mobile media is personal, in that mobile devices are generally used by a particular individual rather than a group of individuals. Further, mobile media is, by definition, mobile, which offers a transportable mechanism for exposing potential consumers to advertising content. Moreover, because mobile media is “always on,” advertisers are not constrained by the need to make a connection in order to deliver promotional content to a user's device because a connection is always established with a user's mobile device (provided the mobile device is in range of an available communication network). As an additional benefit of mobile media as an advertising mechanism, mobile media enables groups of individuals to form wherein the group members communicate actively with each other. As a result, these characteristics combined with social networks-based marketing approach of the Internet may form a very powerful base to execute marketing strategies.
However, executing such marketing strategies and promotional campaigns is difficult and expensive when mobile marketing functionality is to be delivered to individuals via one or more mobile networks with differing technical and operational functionality and requirements, particularly when, VoIP networks and cellular networks are involved and individuals can receive promotional content via VoIP networks and/or cellular networks.
Moreover, cellular network infrastructure is expensive for service level operators to implement, while heavy traffic in the network leads to network congestion. In order to maintain sufficient capacity, operators must either add more capacity (e.g., requiring installation of additional base stations) or increase the price of air time in the network during the busy hours to direct people to use services at off peak hours.
Further, the ever present end user costs for using a cellular network deter effective mobile marketing. Such costs include both the delivery cost of SMS/MMS message transmission to a recipient over the cellular network and cost of voice traffic, i.e. connecting a call to a receiver. Conventionally, such costs must be absorbed wholly or in part by service level operator and/or network provider as part of free or subsidized mobile phone service/product offerings.
MMS, also known as picture messaging, is a widely used service with mobile phone users. Picture messaging refers to the sending of an image, e.g., a photograph produced by a mobile phone, to another mobile phone or to a server or electronic-mail account. Conventionally, the images are sent in some predetermined picture format, e.g., Joint Picture Expert Group (JPEG). In addition to pictures, MMS messages might compose of video, audio, hypertext, links, etc.
A problem in executing mobile marketing strategies results when mobile advertising functionality is to be integrated into one or more communication networks with differing technical and operational functionality and requirements. This is a particular problem when, for example, cellular, that is CDMA or GSM, are available for distributing promotional content as well as VoIP networks. This is because communication via VoIP is initiated and managed in a different manner than for communication via Public Switch Telephone Network (PSTN) or a cellular network.
A MVNO is a company that provides cellular service but does not have its own allocation of the radio frequency spectrum or the infrastructure required to provide mobile telephone service. Unlike Mobile Network Operator (MNOs), who have frequency allocation(s) and infrastructure, MVNOs can be thought of as “switchless resellers” of the traditional landline telephone market, who buy minutes wholesale from large long distance companies and retail them to their customers.
Conventionally, an MNO that does not have a frequency spectrum allocation in a particular geographical region may operate as an MVNO in that region. Thus, an MVNO's roles and relationship to an MNO vary by market, country and the individual situations of the MNO and MVNO. In general, an MVNO is an entity or company that works independently of an MNO and can set its own pricing structures, subject to the rates agreed with the MNO. Conventionally, MVNOs often do not own any GSM, CDMA or other core mobile network related infrastructure, such as Mobile Switching Centers (MSCs), or a radio access network. Although some may own their own Home Location Register, or HLR, which allows more flexibility and ownership of the subscriber's mobile phone number (MSISDN); in such an implementation, a MVNO may appear as a roaming partner to other networks abroad, and as a “network” within its own region.
The cost of mobile marketing strategies can be very expensive if only a PSTN or cellular network is available for transmitting promotional content to users. The ever present end user costs for using a cellular network include both the delivery cost of delivering promotional content in various contents and formats, e.g., SMS/MMS message transmission, to a recipient over the cellular network and also cost of voice traffic, i.e. connecting a call to a receiver.
As such costs must be absorbed wholly or in part by the service level operator and/or network provider as part of free or subsidized mobile phone service/product offerings, at least one embodiment of the invention provides the ability to intercept a phone call and/or data transmission in a cellular network and redirect it to at least one receivers' Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) account if the VoIP account is active. Accordingly, a user's telephone call made via a mobile phone may be redirected in whole or in part to the original receiver but by their VoIP account rather than a conventional and originally intended mobile phone Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN).
As explained briefly above, VoIP is the routing of voice conversations over the Internet or through any other IP-based network. This routing is the process of selecting paths in one or more networks along which to send data or physical traffic. Companies providing VoIP service are commonly referred to as “VoIP providers,” and protocols which are used to carry voice signals over an IP network are commonly referred to as “VoIP protocols.” Thus, VoIP providers such as Vonage™ or Skype™ provide the capability to initiate and receive voice calls via VoIP; these service providers utilize proprietary closed VoIP networks. In addition to such proprietary systems, various industry standards also enable interoperability of VoIP networks. One example of such a standard is the Internet Engineer Task Force (IETF) proposal RFC3261, “SIP: Session Initiation Protocol,” (SIP) which may be used for signalling purposes between VoIP clients which are initiating, carrying on or terminating a VoIP session, which is the voice communication between a plurality of VoIP clients.
Products such as VoIP phones (hardware that provides a handset and software sufficient to provide a VoIP client recognized by a VoIP network) can integrate with other services available over the Internet, including video conversation, message or data file exchange in parallel with the conversation, audio conferencing, managing address books and passing information about whether other users are available online to interested parties.
However, while POTS and mobile phone networks may share common global standards which allocate and identify specific telephone lines, there is no widely adopted similar standard for VoIP networks. Further, although some VoIP networks allocate an telephone number that can be used for VoIP as well as incoming/external calls, there are often different, incompatible schemes when calling between VoIP providers which use provider specific short codes.
As a result, telecommunications companies are developing IP Multimedia Subsystems (IMSs) which are anticipated to merge Internet technologies with the mobile world, using a pure VoIP infrastructure. Thus, in theory, telecommunications companies will be able to upgrade their existing systems while embracing Internet technologies such as the Web, electronic mail, Instant Messaging (IM), presence, and video conferencing as well as allow existing VoIP networks to interface with conventional PSTN and mobile devices. Therefore, the convergence of VoIP technology and other types of voice communication networks is increasing.
Moreover, because VoIP is location independent (only an Internet connection is needed to get a connection to a VoIP provider), mobile phone makers providing smart phones are now developing “dual mode” telephone sets, which allow for the seamless handover between a cellular network and a WiFi network.
VoIP Mobile, or Mobile Voice over Internet Protocol, is the application of VoIP technology to mobile devices. VoIP Mobile requires a mobile device that supports, at a minimum, high speed Internet Protocol (IP) communications. This may be provided, e.g., using Voice over Wi-Fi or VoWi-Fi, but the same protocols (e.g., SIP) can be used over any broadband IP-capable wireless network connection such as the various 3 G standards or potentially WiMAX. Mobile VoIP relies on two main technologies: the Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) Generic Access Network, designed to allow VoIP to run over a GSM cellular backbone; and SIP, the standard used by most VoIP services.
Similarly, MoIP, or mobile communications over IP, is the mobilization of peer-to-peer communications including chat and talk using IP via standard mobile communications applications including 3 G, GPRS and Wifi. Unlike mobile VoIP, MoIP is not a VoIP client made accessible from mobile devices or a switchboard application using VoIP in the background. Rather, MoIP is a native mobile application on users' mobile devices and used to conduct talk and chat over the internet connection as its primary channel.
Regardless of the various implementations for combining IP, VoIP and cellular and PSTN technology, the resulting combination of technologies increases the number of different distribution channels for marketing, advertising and CRM. As a result, there is also an increasing need for technology for developing and implementing mobile marketing strategies such as CRM to be implemented over a variety of distribution channels.
Moreover, the availability of communicating with consumers/customers via VoIP and providing subsidized or free service campaigns via VoIP rather than via mobile networks reduces the cost of implementing such campaigns because IP and VoIP is typically less expensive than voice via mobile networks. For example, VoIP in-network calls may be made for free or at a reduced fee.
Therefore, effective execution of mobile marketing strategies in an environment where customers and consumers have access to VoIP, cellular and PSTN networks requires management of differing technical and operational functionality and requirements. This is particularly true because promotional content may be in the form of SMS, IM, MMS, electronic mail, voice data, video, text, etc. However, by utilizing VoIP, to communicate with consumers/customers reduces the cost of such strategies. Nevertheless, effective distribution of such promotional content via VoIP requires complex and pervasive monitoring and analysis of customer/recipient capabilities and connections with one or more communication networks including VoIP and cellular.